Ministry of Electronics & IT
Dr. N. Seshagiri Memorial Lecture by Shri. Narayana Murthy
National Informatics Centre pays Tribute to Founder Director General Dr. N. Seshagiri
National Informatics Centre  is a key organization under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and plays a pivotal role in the promotion of e-Governance and provisioning of ICT infrastructure, platforms, products & services for the Government.
The vision behind the establishment of NIC was of Dr. NarasimaiahSeshagiri, Founder Director General, NIC and former Special Secretary to the Government of India under whose dynamic and visionary leadership during the 25 year period spanning 1976 to 2000, NIC established an extensive IT infrastructure and service delivery system across the Government establishments – covering Ministries, Departments, State Government establishments up to the districts.
To pay tribute to the visionary, NIC organised the “Dr. N. Seshagiri Memorial Lecture – 2019” on 5th August, 2019 at VigyanBhawan, New Delhi, where the keynote address was delivered by Shri Narayana Murthy, Founder - Infosys Limited, in the august presence of Sh. Sanjay Dhotre, Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Sh. Ajay Swahney, Secretary, MeitY and a large number of Senior Government Officials, eminent personalities from Government and Private organizations.
Hon' bleMoS for HRD, Comm. & EIT praised Dr N Seshagiri for guiding NIC in becoming the IT arm of the Government and providing global solutions for Digital India. He also lauded the role of NIC for transforming the Government services through the use of its physical and human network.
Sh. Ajay Swahney, Secretary, MeitY described Dr. Seshagiri as the doyen of Indian IT revolution, an institution builder, visionary, and credited with creation of a Nation-wide Satellite Network connecting all districts 30 years ago, which was a great feat.
Sh. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys Limited, in his Memorial address titled “The role of education and research in accelerating the growth of Indian Software Industry “, emphasized on the need for improving the quality of our educational institutions imparting engineering and technical education, which should be supplemented by on-job mechanism for enhancing knowledge and skills. Sh Murthy also remembered his close association with Dr. Seshagiri which went back as far as 1982. He described Dr. N Seshagiri as a first rate patriot with a combination of academic excellence, administrative acumen and a sense of quick decision making.
The family of Dr. Sheshagiri was felicitated during the ceremony. A film on the life and work of Dr. Seshagiri was also screened.
The event ended with the vote of thanks by Dr Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC. She paid tribute to the founder of the organisation by stating that what we see as e-Governance today, is the outcome of his vision and its translation through the decades of 80s and 90s. She expressed her gratitude to the great leader of Indian IT Industry Sh. Narayana Murthy for gracing the occasion and enlightening all with a very insightful talk. She expressed her sincere thanks to the Hon’ble Minister of State, Secretary MeitY, family of Dr. Seshagiri, all senior officers and dignitaries, Print and Electronic Media and last but not the least, her fellow NIC officials for making the function a great success.